Short Summary

Mr. Leonid Brezhnev, the Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party, made one of his first?

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Mr. Leonid Brezhnev, the Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party, made one of his first public appearances in Moscow on Friday (8 July) since being elected President of the Soviet Union.

At their meeting, Mr Brezhnev handed Mr Toon a reply to a letter from President Jimmy Carter. No official details have been given, but it's understood the letters were connected with recent U.S. efforts to arrange a summit between Mr Carter and Mr Brezhnev.

SYNOPSIS: Mr. Brezhnev was at the Kremlin on Friday to greet ambassadors and ministers from the 125 countries which have diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. It was the first time the diplomats had been presented to Mr Brezhnev in his new role as Soviet head of state. He was elected to the post at the annual summer session of the USSR Supreme Soviet to replace former president Nikolai Podgorny.

President Brezhnev had a two hour private meeting on Tuesday (5 July) with United States ambassador, Mr Malcolm Toon. It was Mr Toon's first meeting with Mr Brezhnev since he took up the Moscow post last December.